Dragged Across Concrete (2018)

September 2, 2019 2:17 AM

Once two overzealous cops get suspended from the force, they must delve into the criminal underworld to get their proper compensation.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot (5 comments total)

Loved this, a slow, contemplative pace with some genuinely shockingly violent episodes. Dialogue halfway between realistic and Tarantino. Tory Kittles is brilliant, a weird understated against-type role for Michael Jai White, Mel Gibson playing a oddly intertextual version of himself ("the media needs a villain!"), and quite a thoughtful turn from Vince Vaughn too. Seemed "tighter" and more cohesive than S Craig Zahler's rather good previous film, Bone Tomahawk, even though it's probably even longer.
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 2:21 AM on September 2, 2019

If you somehow missed Zahler's Brawl in Cell Block 99, boy, are you in for a treat.

I really liked this, too — probably my favorite movie of the first half of this year. The politics make me uncomfortable, not least because I can't figure out exactly where Zahler stands vis-a-vis the reactionary leanings of the cops, though I appreciate that they are at least believably human characters rather than racist caricatures. Michael Jai White is excellent and underrated. And Zahler is just one hell of a filmmaker -- always knows exactly where to put the camera and how to frame up the widescreen image, completely unhurried when it comes to telling his story, and unmistakably, if brutally, idiosyncratic. The title aptly describes the abrasiveness of his narrative decisions. (Poor Jennifer Carpenter!)
posted by Mothlight at 3:14 PM on September 2, 2019 [2 favorites]

Also, this continues the S Craig Zahler tradition of having an end credits song that summarises the movie, which I absolutely love. Shotgun safari!!
posted by nicolas léonard sadi carnot at 7:00 PM on September 2, 2019

I don't know about Zahler. I think he's talented but all his films have a deep undercurrent of right wing politics and his treatment of race is atrocious. I was hoping this film would prove me wrong but it only confirmed it.
posted by cazoo at 8:59 AM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]

This is a technically accomplished film that’s just so fucking nasty I’m kind of mad I watched it.
posted by hototogisu at 1:51 AM on January 16